Recipe: Making Pine Needle Oil
This fragrant oil is delicious drizzled over salads, roasted vegetables, or risotto. The flavour is fresh and a touch earthy – like putting a walk in the woods on your plate.
Kitchenware
- Clean 1-litre preserving jar
- fine sieve or cheesecloth
- swing-top bottle for storage
Ingredients
- 1 l neutral oil such as sunflower oil
- 350 g pine needles preferably young and fresh green
- 1 el Crushed black peppercorns
- Peel of 1 organic lime Only the green part, not the white part
Instructions
- Pick fresh pine needles in a clean spot. Rinse them briefly and pat them dry.
- Put the pine needles in a clean (!) Kilner jar. How to clean glass jars and bottles thoroughly? First, pour boiling water over them (don't forget the lid) and then place the jar/bottle in an oven at 100°C for ten minutes.
- Add the lime zest. Make sure you only use the green-yellow part of the zest, without the white underneath – that makes the oil bitter.
- Add the crushed peppercorns.
- Place the pot in a warm spot for 2 days, such as near a radiator or on a sunny windowsill. Shake or stir occasionally.
- Strain the oil through a cheesecloth (or sieve) into a clean (!) bottle after two days. Do not leave it any longer, otherwise the oil will become bitter.
- Keep the oil cool and dark. It will keep for several weeks.